Michael Levitt
- Awarded In
- 2024
- Discipline
- Chemical Sciences
- Institution
- Stanford University
Recognized for transformative discoveries that allowed for the study of complex chemical reactions, particularly in biological molecules like proteins, which revolutionized the field of biochemistry.
Michael Levitt, Ph.D., a professor of structural biology at Stanford University, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is being honored for his groundbreaking work in developing accurate computer models of chemical reactions, integrating features of both classical physics and quantum mechanics.
Levitt won a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2013, shared with Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel, for developing the first method to calculate chemical reactions using computers — while integrating features of classical physical and quantum mechanics. Their work, the majority of which was performed in the 1970s, led to new insights into how proteins fold or misfold, and how enzymes catalyze. By looking at the structure of molecules, the trio revolutionized the field of biochemistry and research into the structural basis of diseases.
Levitt accepted the Rev. Carrier Medal on September 9, 2024.
Read more about Michael Levitt, Ph.D.Watch Michael Levitt's 2024 Carrier Medal Lecture